Chaos Out Of Control
by Toni The Mink
Summary: Chris Thorndyke, a lonely boy who wants nothing more than attention and respect, finds himself in a new world with princesses, 7 gems, and talking animals... where he could also be the enemy!   A different take on the Sonic X series.
1. Chapter 1

Christopher Thorndyke was bored. There was nothing to do in his big mansion but homework, which he already finished and did over again for kicks. There was nobody to hang out with either. His parents were away, as usual. Dad was at a big corporate meeting in Hawaii, and Mom was shooting the next big feature film across seas. Chris felt lonely. Sure, he had friends, but not that many and they were all busy. Danny had basketball practice, and Frances was spending the day with her father and brothers. So it was just him.

It would have been nice to have more friends. He was somewhat an awkward kid at school, often picked on, and had trouble talking to others. What made him so different? Just because he had a thousand-dollar allowance? Because he was the smartest kid in class and chose to work on his physics homework than play sports? Perhaps one day, everyone will acknowledge him, see him as a great figure.

For now, he'd have to figure out what to do on this particularly boring day. Going to see what his grandfather was up to was a start.

"Hey Grandpa, what'cha up to?" Chris called, poking his head inside his grandfather's lab.

Chuck Thorndyke turned away from his latest invention and to his grandson. "Ah, Chris, glad you're here," he answered, "You're about to witness history in the making!"

"Again?" the 12-year old boy chuckled.

Chuck huffed. "This time, I worked out all the kinks. I did the math, then re-did the math, and double-checked everything. If my calculations are correct, I'll be able to open the doorway to alternate dimensions!"

"Alternate dimensions?"

Chuck nodded. "Yes. You see, Chris, my theory is that there are all sorts of different worlds out there."

"Well everyone knows that, Grandpa," said Chris, "There're eight planets in our solar system."

"I don't mean planets like Mars and Neptune," Chuck corrected, "When I say 'worlds', I mean dimensions. Zones, rather. Different forms of existence. For example, in other lifetime, you would be _my_ grandfather, and I your grandson."

Chris chuckled. "That's silly."

"Sounds silly," said Chuck, "But so did flying aircrafts, but that didn't stop the Wright Brothers. Or Copernicus when he suggested the world revolved around the sun. You'll never know your true potential unless you become the best you can be."

"I know, I know," sighed Chris, obviously hearing all this before.

Chuck pressed a few buttons and turned some knobs on the control panel he stood at. "Okay, get ready, Chris," he announced, "I'm about to start the Dimensional Matter Displacer."

Chris watched as the invention began humming to life. Two metal poles began to glow, and exchange electricity, and the circular doorway flashed brightly. The machine was giving its all and Chris was impressed. It looked like whatever was happening it was going to work!

And then…

A farting noise.

And the entire machine powered down.

Chuck stared in disbelief. "I... I don't understand!" he cried, "I double-checked and triple-checked my calculations! It should have worked!"

"Maybe it just wasn't meant to be, Grandpa," said Chris as he approached the Dimensional Matter Displacer.

"No! It's possible!" said Chuck as he opened his notes and skimmed through, "All worlds are linked by time and space. It takes a massive amount of energy to break through the dimensional barriers. I tuned the end velocity to a nearby spot, which should have broken through the zone wall and reach into another world. What could I be doing wrong?"

As Chuck looked through his notebook, Chris walked through the invention, examining it closely. Not that he could actually do anything about it, but curiosity did get the best of him.

A device that opened the gateway to other dimensions? How cool was that? Maybe there was an alternate version of him that was actually popular and liked by everyone.

As he looked through the circular doorway, he thought he saw a glimpse of himself. Was there a mirror in the room? He blinked, and it was suddenly gone. He then glanced around the doorway, but saw no mirror. He looked back, and noticed the blue wall was suddenly yellow. The room was definitely different. It was another room… in another world!

"Hey Grandpa!" he called over, "I think it worked! I see-"

BZZ-ZAP!

The machine had burst to life and gathered energy from all over. Chris stepped back, shocked, as the energy surrounded him.

Chuck quickly looked up from his notes and gasped in horror as his grandson was engulfed in a strange kind of element. "Chris, get away from the displacer!" he shouted.

Chris tried to step away, but the energy was pulling him in. It was just too much, and he was helpless as it completely sucked him through the doorway, leaving with a giant flash of light.

"Chris!" Chuck blindly raced for the Dimensional Matter Displacer in an attempt to rescue Chris, but only succeeded in tripping over spare parts and landing onto the side of one of the large poles, shocking him fiercely and throwing him to the floor. Chuck brought himself up to a sitting position, rubbing his aching head, and trying to open his eyes as the machine died down, the bright light going with it. He didn't wait for his eyes to adjust before he looked around in search of the boy. "Chris! Christopher! Are you all right?"

No answer. Chuck staggered to his feet and rubbed his eyes, his vision finally returning, and glanced around. The machine was dead.

And Chris was nowhere to be found.

_"Christopher!"_

* * *

Chris could feel himself lying face down on a cold hard floor. But what really woke him up was the rather girlish laugh in the background.

"Oh ho ho ho ho!" laughed the voice. "The test was a success! I can indeed manage to perform a man-made Chaos Control!"

"Truly wonderful, Master!" barked a robotic voice.

"Indeed!" spoke another "Dr. Eggman would have been so proud!"

"Yes… My long-lost master… It won't be much longer. Now that I can create a Chaos Control of my own, I will be able to take control of every nation on this planet! AND I'll do it faster than that speedy blue hedgehog can keep up! Oh ho ho ho ho!"

Chris lifted himself to his arms and glanced up. The girlish laughter had actually come from a tall young man, dressed in red with black pants and boots. He had shoulder-length chestnut hair, and though he had his back facing Chris, the boy couldn't help but wonder where he had seen him before.

"Who… who are you?"

The two robots, one tall and yellow, the other stout and gray, were the first to notice Chris lying on the floor. The young man was a bit slow on the uptake. "What?" he asked, "What is it?"

"Sir," spoke the stout robot, "It appears you have a guest."

The young man turned, and Chris finally got a good look at his face…

It was him!

Or… it LOOKED like him… Sort of… Maybe if he had a cousin or an older brother?

The man glared. "And who might you be?"

Chris was too stunned to answer. Why did this man look so familiar?

"Sir," said the yellow robot, "Perhaps he was pulled from another dimension when you activated the Chaos Control."

The man rubbed his chin. "I see…" He then grinned and clapped his hands together, "Another bait to lure the hedgehog in with. Or better yet," his grin turned fiercer, which frightened Chris, "A guinea pig to use for a later experiment."

He snapped his fingers. "Either or, take him away. Lock him up with our other guest."

The robots bowed and took a hold each of Chris' arms, dragging him away. "W-w-wait a minute!" he cried, "Just who are you anyway?"

The young man flashed a smirk as Chris was led out the room. "You'll know my name soon enough, as will the entire world."

* * *

Chris was harshly thrown into the holding cell, slamming into the ground hard. "Ow! Hey!" The robots obviously didn't care as they silently closed the doors and walked off. Chris sat up, rubbing his arm. What was going on here?

"Are you okay?"

Chris looked up at the sound of a girl's voice. Looking down at him with concern was a very pretty girl, dressed in a small but fancy white dress, and a feather clipped to her hair. Chris was a young boy, after all, and couldn't help but blush in the presence of a gorgeous, older woman.

The girl, however, must have noticed the unsubtle look on his face, and immediately backed away in fear. "No!" she cried, "Stay away! Don't come near me!"

Chris quickly jolted up and waved his hands wildly. "Wha- wait! Hold on! It's okay, I won't hurt you!"

The girl stopped and blinked. It wasn't the voice she expected… sure it was young and childish, but mainly because this person WAS young and a child. She looked back at Chris and studied him. "Wait," she murmured, "You're not Thorndyke…"

Chris blinked himself. "Huh? Sure I am! I mean, I'm CHRIS Thorndyke!" He tilted his head, "But how did you know who I am?"

The girl looked harder at Chris. "But… you can't be! You're much younger. Are you a relative? A cousin? Or a brother?"

That sounded familiar. Chris remembered thinking that when he first saw—

"Wait, you're not talking about that guy, are you? The one who threw me in here."

"You mean Dr. Thorndyke?"

"_Doctor _Thorndyke?" Chris was pretty sure he had no family members who were doctors.

"Yes," answered the girl, "He was the apprentice of Dr. Eggman."

"Egg… man?" Chris suddenly had the mental image of a giant talking egg.

The girl looked at him, wondering if lived under a rock. "Yes. You know, the evil dictator who tried numerous times to take over Mobius?"

"Mobius…?"

She thought it was a figure of speech, but apparently this boy really DID live under a rock. "Yes, you know, _our planet?"_

"Planet?" said Chris, "Our planet's called-"

Then it hit him!

_ "I don't mean planets like Mars and Neptune. When I say 'worlds', I mean dimensions. Zones, rather. Different forms of existence. "_

"That's it!" Chris slammed his fist in his other palm, "Grandpa's machine! That Matter Displacer thing! I'm in another world!"

The girl just stared. "…What?"

Chris looked over to explain. "My grandfather created this machine to open a gateway into other worlds… or, actually, dimensions."

"In other words, another zone."

"Yeah yeah!" Chris nodded, "You know about it too?"

"Dr. Thorndyke has been working on something similar," she explained, "Something about creating his own Chaos Control to control time and space."

"And it must have connected to my grandpa's machine, which opened a gateway between our worlds and brought me here!" Chris exclaimed.

The girl nodded. "I see! Then that means you really ARE Dr. Thorndyke!"

Chris nearly toppled over. "What?"

"You're Dr. Thorndyke! Only, a younger and nicer version."

Chris didn't feel like being nice. "I am NOT that guy! I'm not a world-domineering jerk!"

"Take it easy," said the girl, "I didn't mean anything like that. But you do share the same name…"

Chris turned away, crossed his arms, and huffed. "It's just a coincidence! Nothing more!"

The girl sighed and looked away. "Very well," she said, "I apologize. You aren't him." She muttered under her breath, "But you look a lot like him as well…"

"Huh?"

"Nothing," the girl stood to her feet. "Forgive me, but I haven't introduced myself. I am Elise, Princess of Soleanna."

Chris looked over in surprise. "Did you say PRINCESS?"

Elise nodded.

"No wonder you look so pretty!"

Elise blushed at this. Chris quickly fumbled to correct himself. "I MEAN! Uh, pretty dress! Pretty dressed looking! Fancy looking! Like a princess!"

Elise smiled. "Well, you certainly don't behave like the doctor… though you do share some things in common."

Chris scratched the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. "Er, uh… sorry." He looked back up at the princess. "So why are you here anyway?"

Elise's smile faded. "In place of his master, Dr. Thorndyke wants to take over the world, creating the Eggman Utopia. He started with Soleanna, knowing that I had a Chaos Emerald."

"Chaos Emerald?"

"Yes. They're these seven magic gems that hold a limitless amount of power. Thorndyke wants all seven to complete his man-made Chaos Control and dominate all of Mobius. He invaded and took control of my kingdom and locked me away here. Soon the rest of the world will become his next target."

"I see," Chris rubbed his chin, "But why lock you here? What does he want with you?"

"I'm afraid I'm part of his, er, _personal_ plan," Elise blushed, but not due to flattery this time, "When Thorndyke takes over, he wants me to become his… _queen_."

Chris wasn't sure how to take that. Sure it wasn't right for this guy to force Elise to marry him. But at the same time, he couldn't quite blame him. She was pretty cute.

Best he changed the topic. "So, how do we get out of here?"

Elise sighed hopelessly and turned away to the window. "There is nothing we can do," she responded.

"There's gotta be something!"

"Only one thing.."

"What?"

"We wait."

Chris knitted his eyebrows. "Wait for what? For the world to end?"

Elise smiled slightly. "No… we wait for _him."_

"Who's him?"

Elise turned to Chris with a dreamy glint in her eye. "Sonic."


	2. Chapter 2

Chris raised an eyebrow. "Sonic?" he questioned, "Just who in the world is 'Sonic'?"

Elise blushed. "He's only the greatest hero you'll ever meet."

* * *

Before she could say more, the two heard the sound of a sonic boom, followed by a round of explosions. They made their way to the window to see what the commotion was, but Elise seemed to already have an idea.

"See for yourself!"

The robots barely knew what hit them as a blue flash zipped past them, taking them out with one step. The front line was cleared out in an instant, which immediately set off the red alerts.

"Doctor Thorndyke!" Decoe cried, sitting at a front desk and studying the security panels closely, "The frontal security line has been completely wiped out! Sonic's here! And he's getting closer!"

"Well, don't just sit there whining!" Thorndyke shouted, "Secure lockdown! Initiate all counter hedgehog measurements! Stop him before he gets any further!"

"Right away!" Decoe hit a few buttons and pulled over a microphone. "Units Two and Three! Sector One! Stat!"

* * *

Hidden passageways seemed to open everywhere as armies and armies of Egg Pawns had come rushing out and towards the enemy object straight ahead of them.

This was nothing to the blue hedgehog that ran full speed towards them. He simply curled into a flying ball of spikes and plunged into the Badniks, knocking them aside. As he attempted to get further, more and more pawns surrounded him. The more he destroyed, the more came to slow him down, not to mention they kept growing in size as well as numbers. Eventually, there came a huge wall of pawns, with a massive, mace-wielding pawn right in the front, ready to take out the hedgehog with its spiked weapon of doom.

"Leave it to me, Sonic!"

From a rooftop jumped a pink hedgehog, holding high above her head a giant mallet. With one swing, she single-handedly knocked over the giant pawn. She looked over to the blue hedgehog, which was obviously Sonic, and grinned. "I'll handle the rest!"

Sonic winked. "Thanks, Amy!" He blasted off once more, taking out an Egg Pawn while on the way.

* * *

"Dr. Thorndyke, sir!" Bocoe cried from another console, "Sonic has broken through the first two units! He's in the center field!"

"Arggh!" the young man grabbed his hair and stomped his foot, "Dummies! Can't any of you rust buckets do anything right?" Charging over, Thorndyke grabbed a mic from the small robot's hands and screamed, "ALL AERIAL UNITS! Sector C! Destroy that hedgehog! MOVE IT!"

* * *

Just as Sonic thought he was getting closer, more and more robots seemed to come at him. The Egg Flappers were easy. Sonic only had to jump on their heads to take them down. What was more difficult were the small jet-bots that flew gracefully and attacked fiercely. They had the lasers, the missiles, and the maneuverability to keep Sonic on his toes, and though Sonic could jump high, he couldn't jump high enough, and the jet-bots could easily escape and attack again.

Fortunately for Sonic, he too had air support. From the sky flew a blue bi-plane. The jet-bots were too focused on the hedgehog to notice their new foe. The plane, piloted by a young fox, shot bullets at the bots and was able to take out half the field. The other half, however, peeled away and finally turned their attention to the fox.

"Tails, look out!" cried the second passenger, an even younger chipmunk with black fur. "They're coming after us!"

"Don't worry, Chopper," Tails smirked, targeting the jet-bot in front as they all got close and formed a line, heading straight for the two. "I've got this." He pressed a red switch on the top of the steering handle, and a missile shot from the bottom of the plane's fuselage, striking the front jet-bot head on. The bot's explosion caused damage to the two bots flying alongside, which in turn destroyed them, and so on until all the bots were taken out.

"All clear, Sonic!"

"Way to go, Tails!" Sonic flashed a thumbs-up before charging straight ahead to the main fortress. "Now how about getting me inside?"

"Got it!" Tails unstrapped himself from his seat, "Chopper, time to change places. Think you can handle the Tornado for a moment?"

"I can do it!" Chopper raised his little arms up. Tails carefully climbed to the back seat as Chopper hopped to the front and took over the controls.

"Keep her steady, Chopper," said Tails as he pressed a button on the back of the seat in front of him. The backing flipped over to reveal a console, and Tails typed away.

* * *

"Emergency lockdown alert," a mechanic voice droned over the speakers. "Infiltration detected."

"Don't let him inside!" Thorndyke screamed, "Shut down the whole place with every blast door and security lines possible!"

Both Bocoe and Decoe typed furiously away at the systems. Still…

"Level One Security Breech," spoke the voice, "Level Two…"

"What are you idiots doing?" Thorndyke cried, "I said lock the place up, not roll out the welcome mat!"

"We're trying sir!" cried Decoe, "But there's something jamming the system! Some sort of outside source!"

"That blasted fox..!" Thorndyke clenched his fist, "I should have destroyed him when I had the chance! No matter. Sonic's the bigger threat. Release E-5000 Destructo!"

* * *

Sonic easily got past all the fun game-like levels with little to no interference, thanks to Tails' hackings. Thorndyke's doors were just ahead. Time to put a spin on things! As he prepared to rev into a spin, the ceiling opened up, and down came yet another massive robot. There were jet packs under his feet, and his hands were in the shape of guns, and he towered over Sonic like Goliath over David. Not to mention he completely blocked the way of Thorndyke's bridge.

"Okay… Not good."

E-5000 Destructo raised its arm, pointing the gun on the end at Sonic, and immediately began firing. Sonic had to race up the walls to avoid getting shot, but even running upside down on the roof proved to be futile. Destructo, just barely as fast as Sonic, jetted into the air and blocked the hedgehog's way, firing even more. Sonic leaped back to the ground and attempted an air kick to the large robot's abdomen.

CLANG. "Oww!"

No good.

Destructo leaned forward and smashed a fist into the ground, attempting to squash Sonic, had he not jumped away in the nick of time. Sonic turned tail and darted the opposite direction, Destructo hot on his heels.

"Sonic, everything okay?"

"Not quite Tails," Sonic responded in the communicator, strapped to his wrist under his glove, "Got this big robot in my way. I'm just in front of Thorndyke's doors, but heading out the other way to try and lose it."

"I've got a visual!" Tails chimed, scanning his infrared sensors, and locking target position. "Okay! Ready Chopper?"

The little chipmunk placed his hand on a level on the side of his seat. "Ready!"

"FIRE!"

Chopper pushed the level forward, and another missile shot from the bottom of the plane, aimed straight for the fortress, specifically right where Sonic was.

It struck the wall, but rather than explode on impact, it merely stayed embedded in the wall, and its top hatch sprung open. Sonic yielded to a halt and snatched the small golden ring that flew out of the top. He then spun on his heels and grinned at the oncoming Destructo as he absorbed the ring's power. Before Destructo could get any closer, Sonic was in high-speed spinning mode and blasted his way at the robot, smashing through it effortlessly, and targeting the front doors straight ahead.

Not even the thick layers of blast doors could keep the souped-up Sonic from breaking through. Before Dr. Thorndyke could react, a blue blur was already in the room, zipping past him and his robotic henchmen, and homed onto the Dimensional Matter Displacer, smashing it to pieces.

"What?" was all Thorndyke was able to cry out by the sudden attack.

Where there was once a dimensional machine now stood a pile of junk, with Sonic in the middle, staring menacingly at the young doctor. "Looks like your plans are foiled, Thorndyke."

Thorndyke clenched his fists. "Sonic! Damn you! If only I had better security."

"Face it," Sonic grinned, "Your robots are no match for me and my friends, no matter how big and tough you make them. You know what they say. The bigger they are, the harder they fall."

"And your talk is rather big itself," sneered Thorndyke, "I still have the Chaos Emerald. With it, I've another chance to take over the world!"

Sonic smirked. "If Eggman couldn't do it, what makes you think you can?"

This boiled Thorndyke's blood. "Eggman chose me to be his successor, and I do NOT intend to let him down!" he growled. "The first thing I'll do is get back at you for destroying him!"

"Eggman destroyed himself, and you know it!" Sonic shouted, "You still have a chance to redeem yourself. You don't have to follow in his footsteps!"

"Heaven forbid someone follows Eggman and not you!" said Thorndyke, "I tried to befriend you, but you wanted nothing with me. Nobody did! Eggman was the only one who took me under his wing. It's only logical I follow the word of the one who cared for me."

"I seriously doubt he did."

"SHUT UP!" Thorndyke shouted, "It's your fault he's gone, and now I've taken his place! Where he fell, I shall pick up the pieces! I will avenge Master Eggman."

Sonic braced himself. "In that case," he said, "Give it your best shot!"

"Ah, tut, tut," Thorndyke smirked and waved a finger, "I will have my revenge, but to quote Shakespeare, it is a dish best served cold."

All around the floor, smoke bombs suddenly went off. Sonic coughed and waved away the smoke from his mouth. He glanced up to see a dome cover the area Thorndyke stood, as well as Bocoe and Decoe, who had set off the escape plan during the conversation, and the three were dropped under the floor. Sonic tried to give chase, but the floor closed up, and Thorndyke was long gone.

The water sprinklers went off from the ceiling, drenching everything, and clearing the smoke. Nothing left but sparking machinery and no chaos emerald. Thorndyke must have tucked it away.

Sonic sighed and jogged off. "Oh well. Better find our little hostage."

* * *

"What happened?" Chris peered out the window, "All those explosions stopped!"

"Sonic must have stopped him," Elise smiled, clasping her hands together.

Chris turned back to the princess. "Sonic sure must be some real hero, being able to do all that," he said, "I'd sure like to meet this guy."

BAM!

The cell doors slammed open. Chris and Elise whipped their attention to the threshold, where two hedgehogs stood, one blue, the other pink, holding a hammer.

Chris rubbed his eyes and took another look.

Hedgehogs…?

Wearing clothes?

Standing on two legs?

Multi-colored?

"Wh… what… who… what is THAT?"

"Sonic!" Elise cried, rushing over, falling to her knees, and wrapping her arms tightly around Sonic's neck. "I knew you'd come. I knew you'd save me…"

"GET OFF HIM!"

Elise found herself on the wrong end of a Piko-Piko Hammer slam and into the wall.

"Amy!" Sonic shouted, grabbing at her hammer, "What did I tell you about hitting people with that thing?"

"She was grabbing you inappropriately!"

"You're being ridiculous! You've got to control that jealousy of yours."

"I'm not jealous, I'm just protective of those I love."

Chris just continued staring. They were not only clothes-wearing multi-colored hedgehogs standing on two legs, but they could also talk…

…As well as squabble like children.

"Excuse me?"

Sonic and Amy ceased arguing and glanced over at the boy. Sonic didn't waste a second going into a defensive stance. "Thorndyke!" he sneered, "So I see you changed your mind and came for a second helping of whoop-ass stew!"

Chris stepped back. "What?"

"I'll get him, Sonic!" Amy shouted as she raced at Chris, her hammer held high. "Hiyyeee—"

"No, stop!"

Amy halted in mid-air, the hammer just inches from Chris' head. "Elise?" she said, "What is it? It better be good."

"That's not Thorndyke," said Elise, as she pulled herself from the wall.

Sonic stared at the princess as Amy dropped to the floor. Chris let out a sigh of relief.

"It's… kind of complicated," said Elise, "But it's not Thorndyke. Not the one we know at least."

"Then mind explaining who he is?"

"His name is Chris… He's from another planet, er, zone rather."

Sonic scratched his chin. "Hm, you're right. It is complicated."

"I'm just as confused as you are, Mr. Hedgehog," said Chris, "I just want to go back home."

Sonic eyed the boy suspiciously. "Okay," he said, "Let's meet up with the others first and figure out what to do from there.


	3. Chapter 3

With the prisoners free, the group made their way outside the fortress, where they met up with Tails and Chopper, having just landed the Tornado and running to catch up with the others.

"Sonic!" called Tails as he and his chipmunk compadre raced up to the hedgehog. "You made it okay! Is the princess all right?"

"She's standing next to me, isn't she?" Sonic grinned, pointing back to Elise.

Tails smiled a hello, and then glanced over to the boy next to her. "Hm?" he blinked, "Hey wait. Who's that-"

"WAIGH!" Chopper cried, "Look out! It's Thorndyke!"

Tails yelped himself. "You're right! It is him!"

"Stand back! I got him!" Chopper lunged forward, mouth wide open, showing off his two big, and very sharp looking teeth. Chris stepped back, panicked, but before Chopper could bite down on his arm, he was suddenly grabbed in mid-air by Sonic.

"Hold on there, kiddo!" he called, "That's not Thorndyke."

Chopper put away his fierce face and looked confused, "Huh? It's not? But it looks like him!"

"It does," said Sonic, placing him back on his feet, "But if you take a closer look, he's about 6 years younger, and he's not wearing the red uniform either."

Tails and Chopper looked closely. "Hm… I guess you have a point."

Chris rolled his eyes. Just how dense were these creatures? He wished he were home, where animals didn't talk at all. Speaking of which…

"Hey, what happened to that machine?"

Sonic looked over. "Machine?"

"Yeah," said Chris, "That… Dimensional Matter Displacer thing?"

"Ohhhh, that thing!" Sonic simply shrugged, "No worries. I took care of it."

Chris raised an eyebrow. "Took care of it… how?"

"Took care of it as in took care of it." Sonic noticed the still unsure look on the kid's face. He sighed, "It's destroyed. Ka-put. Done for."

Chris' mouth slowly hung open. "De… stroyed?"

"Yes!" Sonic groaned. "Why?"

"Why..?" Chris grabbed his hair, "WHY? I'll tell you why! That Dimensional Matter Displacer was what brought me here to begin with! If it's destroyed, then that means I'm stuck here! I can't go home!"

Sonic whistled. "I see… That IS bad."

"What am I gonna do now?" Chris cried, "I can't stay here! Mom and Dad'll ground me if I'm not home by curfew! I'm not allowed outside my block by myself, let alone outside my world!"

"Calm down," Tails spoke up, "I'll take a look at it and see if I can fix it up."

"You sure that's a good idea, Tails?" said Sonic, "A man-made Chaos Control sounds like trouble. Especially in the hands of Thorndyke. It's better off destroyed."

"But how else will we get this version of Thorndyke back home?" asked Elise.

Chris was miffed. "Could you please stop calling me a version of him?" he grumbled, "I'm not him! We just share the same name, that's all."

"And hair color," added Amy.

"AND face," said Chopper.

Chris sneered, "Knock it off."

"Either way," said Elise, "This young man needs to go home to his rightful world. It's important that we do help him get home."

"Well, a Chaos Control can't be made without a Chaos Emerald," said Tails.

"Yeah," said Sonic, "But Thorndyke took it with him when he escaped."

"One's enough," Tails responded, "As long as Thorndyke doesn't have all seven, he'll be the least of our worries. Maybe you should go see Knuckles. He's an expert at finding gems, after all. I'll stay and see what I can do about this Dimensional Matter Displacer you were talking about."

Chris blinked at the young fox. "You?" he questioned, "But, you're just…"

"A kid?" Chopper sneered, "He HAPPENS to be a kid genius, ya know!"

"It's okay, Chopper," Tails assured, "He didn't. He isn't from around here, remember?"

Chopper narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure."

Chris looked from Chopper to the rest of the group. It seemed whenever they looked at him, they were giving uneasy, untrusted looks. Even Elise, who was the one guaranteeing that he intended no harm. Where ever this place was, it was obvious it was one where he was most unwelcome.

And he was pretty sure it had to do with that Dr. Thorndyke…

No! It didn't matter how much he looked like him! He WASN'T him! It was just a coincidence!

"Anyway, Tails, I'll take the Tornado and drop Elise off back to Soleanna," said Sonic, "Then we're heading to Angel Island. I'll leave you to stick around and fix that matter displacer thingy back up."

Tails gave a thumbs-up.

"And I'll help Tails!" Chopper piped in.

Tails grinned. "So long as you don't break anything."

Sonic turned to Chris. "You may as well come with us," he said.

Chris slowly nodded, not sure if Sonic really wanted to help, after hearing the low tone of his voice, and the cold stare he gave.

* * *

The plane trip to Soleanna was surprisingly not a long one, but it didn't seem that way to Chris. The Tornado was only a 2 passenger plane, and with four passengers, he was forced to share a seat with Elise. It was awkward enough being squished with a girl, but when that girl was a princess, the awkwardness level was 10 times more, and they couldn't get her home soon enough.

He was relieved when they finally touched ground at Soleanna. Elise was carefully helped out of the plane and into the arms of her worried father. After explaining the situation and who the young boy was, Sonic said his farewells and prepared to head back out. Before leaving, Elise gave Sonic a thank you kiss on the cheek, much to the dismay to both Amy and Chris.

The trip to Angel Island was longer, but as least it was more comfortable for Chris. Without being forced to share a seat with a beautiful girl, he could relax and enjoy the ride. He had never ridden on a bi-plane before, and it was an exhilarating experience, having the wind in his face and getting a better view of the land far below him. He could never get this sort of thrill from any of his parents' private jets. He made a mental note to look into flying lessons once he would return home.

"Oh no!" Amy cried from the top wing of the plane, "Sonic, look!"

Sonic craned his neck forward to see what Amy was pointing at. "Uh oh!" he cried, "This isn't good!"

"What?" asked Chris as he leaned forward to get a better look himself, "What's wrong?"

Sonic pointed to a large island, sitting in the ocean. "That's what's wrong! Angel Island's in the ocean!"

"So?" said Chris, "Isn't that where all islands are?"

The hedgehog shook his head, "Not Angel Island," he responded, "It's supposed to be in the sky!"

"The sky..?" Chris thought that over. That didn't make any sense. Then again neither did talking hedgehogs that could fly planes. "Okay, if you say so…"

* * *

"Knuckles!" Sonic called as he, Amy, and Chris voyaged through the empty fields in search of their friend.

"So this Knuckles guy," said Chris, "He a talking hedgehog too?"

"No," said Amy.

Chris sighed. Finally, a normal human-

"An echidna."

….. "Oh."

Sonic pushed aside the long branches, finally coming to a clearing. In front of the group stood a tall stone altar. Chris rubbed his eyes. He couldn't believe what he saw! He only read about temples and shrines in school text books. He never actually saw one up close and personal. "It's beautiful…"

"Yeah," muttered Sonic, "Only it's missing something."

"Missing something? What?"

"You should know! You're the one that stole it!"

Chris turned to where the voice rang out. Before he could get a good look at who spoke to him, the creature had already socked him in the side of the face, knocking the boy to the ground. Chris was shocked with pain. What was that?

He felt the collar of his shirt being grabbed and found himself being turned around to be face to face with an angry red echidna. "Returning to the scene of the crime, are you?" the creature snarled, "That wasn't very smart. Now give back the Master Emerald or else!"

"The what?"

The echidna raised his fist. "Don't play dumb with me!"

The fist was suddenly grabbed on. "Hold on, Knucklebrain! Don't hit him!"

The echidna, who Chris assumed was this "Knuckles" person, turned his head to Sonic, who was holding his fist back and snarled once more. "And the conspiracy just keeps growing. I never thought of you as my buddy, Sonic, but to completely betray my trust and work with the enemy?"

He pulled his arm away and reeled back the other, aiming to land a punch on Sonic, but the hedgehog was already out of the way. Knuckles chased him around, and Sonic leaped to the air and tried to land a kick to his head, but Knuckles blocked with a fist. They jumped back, and went to strike each other once more, when Amy appeared suddenly between the two. The two skidded to a halt before either one could land a hit on her accidentally.

"Knock it off already!" she yelled, swinging her hammer.

"Why should I?" growled Knuckles, "When you and your boyfriend are plotting against me and planning to take over the world?"

Sonic rubbed his head. "That's not the case, Knucklebutt," he muttered, "Why do you always jump to conclusions?"

"Jump to conclusions?" Knuckles shouted and pointed at Chris, "Thorndyke's right there!"

"Not the same Thorndyke," Sonic replied casually, placing his arms behind his head.

"I'm NOT Thorndyke," Chris grumbled, "I mean, I AM Chris Thorndyke, but I'm no megalomaniac doctor. We just have the same name."

"Keep telling yourself that," said Sonic as he rubbed his nose.

Knuckles brought down his battle stance, but kept a cautious eye on the boy. "You say it's not THE Thorndyke we know?" he said.

"Nope," said Sonic, "It's okay, though, we made the same mistake too."

Knuckles narrowed his eyes at the hedgehog. "Okay, say I believe you and he's not the enemy," he said, "What brings you all to Angel Island anyway?"

"We need your help looking for the Chaos Emeralds," said Amy.

Knuckles shook his head. "No can do," he replied, "Thorndyke was here not too long ago. He had one of his massive robots arrive, caught me off guard. I managed to fight them off, but while doing so, he and his henchbots made off with the Master Emerald. The next thing I knew, Angel Island's crashing landing in the ocean."

"What does he want with the Master Emerald?" Amy wondered.

"Whatever it is, it can't be a good reason," said Knuckles. "I have to find him and get it back."

"Well, we're behind you 100 percent!" Sonic gave a thumbs-up.

Knuckles couldn't help but smile appreciatively. "Thanks," he said, then looked over to Chris and the smile faded, "But... you sure we can trust _him_?"

Here we go again. Just when he thought he was making progress with these strangers, Chris once again felt like a large elephant in a small room. Sonic seemed to have trusted him, he figured he might defend him.

Was he crushed when Sonic's answer was a sullen, "Don't have much of a choice."

* * *

"Hey Tails, what does this button do?"

"Don't touch that!"

Chopper jumped back, and then put a finger to his mouth, looking apologetic. Tails sighed. He knew the little chipmunk just wanted to help, but he could be such a hindrance. Typical little brother behavior.

Tails had managed to build the basic structure back to the Dimensional Matter Displacer, and after Chopper accidently knocked a piece out and toppled the whole thing before, it was finally ready for inside work.

"So how does it work?" asked Chopper, peeking in.

"Like Thorndyke said, it's like a man-made Chaos Control," Tails answered, "But we can't figure out how to activate one without a Chaos Emerald. Once I get all the interior schematics up and running, we'll get one to test."

"Oh." Chopper raised his head at the sound of an engine. "Hey, is that the Tornado?"

Tails perked his ears and looked up himself. "Sounds like it," he said, "But they couldn't be back already…"

The two got up and took a look to the sky, watching to see if any bi-plane would come out through the clouds.

Something did fly out from the clouds. Unfortunately it wasn't the Tornado. It was Thorndyke's air fortress.


End file.
